How COVID-19 pandemic affected cancer progression: Three different scenarios evidenced by PET imaging

Hell J Nucl Med. 2020 Sep-Dec;23(3):349-353. doi: 10.1967/s002449912213. Epub 2020 Dec 14.

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic is having a strong impact on healthcare providers around the world, by refocusing and reducing non-essential medical activities. Nuclear medicine departments among others, have been reorganizing and reprioritizing diagnostic and theragnostic procedures. This reorganizing had a negative impact on the supply of positron emission tomography (PET) services to oncologic patients, whose health was affected. We herein present the PET findings in three different cancer scenarios in which disease course was dramatically affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 / epidemiology*
  • Disease Progression
  • Humans
  • Infection Control / methods
  • Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Neoplasms / epidemiology*
  • Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital / organization & administration
  • Nuclear Medicine Department, Hospital / statistics & numerical data
  • Oncology Service, Hospital / organization & administration
  • Oncology Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data
  • Positron-Emission Tomography*